Abu Obeida: ”Release Of Israeli Detainees Delayed Due To Israeli Violations”

Abu Obeida has announced the postponement of the release of Israeli prisoners, citing Israel’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, including delaying the return of displaced people and obstructing relief supplies.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, announced on Monday that the release of Israeli prisoners held by the movement would be postponed. 

Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for the Brigades, explained that the delay is due to Israel’s violations of the ceasefire agreement. 

He stated that the Israeli occupation forces had failed to honor the terms of the deal over the past three weeks, including preventing the return of displaced people to northern Gaza and targeting them with shelling and gunfire.

Abu Obeida emphasized that the Israeli authorities had also obstructed “the entry of relief supplies in all their forms according to what was agreed upon, while the resistance has implemented all its obligations.”

 “The handover of the Zionist prisoners, which was scheduled for Saturday, February 15, will be postponed until further notice, until the occupation fulfills its commitments,” he declared.

In a related development, Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Gaza, criticized Israel for evading its responsibilities under the ceasefire agreement. 

Maarouf accused Israel of manipulating the humanitarian protocol, emphasizing that only a small portion of the necessary relief supplies had entered Gaza, and no mobile homes had been delivered. 

He noted that only 4% of the required tents had arrived and warned that Israel’s actions were exacerbating the hardship of Palestinians already suffering from 15 months of aggression.

The protocol also called for the entry of civil defense equipment and infrastructure maintenance tools.

The humanitarian protocol, as reported by sources to Al-Jazeera, stipulates that aid providers, including the UN and international organizations, were supposed to send 600 trucks of relief supplies per day, including 60,000 caravans and 200,000 tents for the displaced.